Francois
Sometimes a band is not so much about a set of individuals with talents, or a set of individuals upholding a talented singer. It’s about an ethos and an attitude to music that goes beyond the immediacy of the people, person or records involved.
Historically, the majority of the best movements, people and attitudes in music are born out of codes of practice and behaviour that have been at odds with the mainstream. Movements of collectively transcending music bring people closer together. If the music is great too, then it’s a stunning combination.
Francois Marry is the Frenchman the brain behind Francois and The Atlas Mountains - a delightful, semi-Bristol based, DIY folk music ensemble. Francois is the name on the operation, yet the operation is significantly different in comparison to most other bands.
The MySpace page for Francois And The Atlas Mountains lists 20 members. Not because Francois has enlisted the help of a full brass section or The London Philharmonic, but because he has a lot of friends that play instruments. Instead of having a fixed line-up, Francois enlists the help of those who are able to play.
“My band list changes all the time, almost every show we have a different line-up. It changed recently because we had to tour and promote the album a little bit more professionally. But when we do take on the DIY ethos it’s great. We are all friends and we move around instruments and others join in. It’s great.”
Much of this collective has been formed around the Bristol folk label Stich-Stich, as Francois explains: “I grew up in La Rochelle, North of Bordeaux and there wasn’t much of a music scene there. I came to Bristol in 2003 to take a job as a French assistant. In the first week I was here I went to The Cube cinema and I met lots of musicians who were signed to Stich-Stich Records. The main ones were the band I Know I Have No Collar and My Two Toms. I found there was a very interesting scene going on and a lot of DIY culture.”
Bubbling away under the surface lays a multitude of bands, not just connected with the Stich-Stich imprint, but each other. Bands like Arctic Circle and Ladybird are gems, who have remained under the immediate surface of mainstream Bristol attention. This is the brilliant and most immediately obvious characteristic about the Stich-Stch imprint and the ethos employed by Francois and his ever-changing band roster. Not desperately seeking attention, but pursuing their own path with integrity and a high musical quality.
Francois’s sound is full of summer, bike rides and rural pleasures. His current album - Plane Inondable, is twee, melodic and bilingual. Released on the equally brilliant Fence records, the album has seen Francois’s live effort take on a more rigid structure.
“Touring the new album has been great because it’s had some big promotion in France and as a consequence we have had shows on bigger stages. This has been different for me because in the past my performances have been based on energy
and enthusiasm. Now I realise I have to channel everything through the two main speakers because on that big stage people are further away from you. I still try and improvise though and not stick too rigidly to the formula. I try and play old songs and new songs. I feel we have the DIY ethos down to a tee, I feel more comfortable.”
Francois is also an artist in the traditional sense, producing a number of animations to accompany his songs. The watercolour resonance for the track Be Water, is a really stunning and captivating piece of work that visualises the intelligence, the thematic beauty and subtlety of Francois’s music. In a city not usually noted for its folk music, the fact Francois has found such brilliant influences and friends in the folk community of Bristol is testament to the diversity of Bristol as a musical hub.
An example of a wonderful musical scene bubbling under the surface of the city, the DIY folk community centred around Stich-Stich records is to be celebrated and enjoyed. “It’s very cool this scene in Bristol and it is very much centred around The Cube and Café Kino. When I first moved to Bristol, Stokes Croft was a very cool area, not many people knew about it. It does seem to have gained a much wider publicity since I’ve been here.”
With justification, Francois has found a great and loyal audience and is a great example of someone who has found their home in a happy, folk-tinted corner of Bristol.
Tune: Tour De France
http://www.myspace.com/francoisinbristol
Photo: Tom Cops
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